PESHAWAR, June 24: NWFP Minister for Health and Population Welfare Inayatullah Khan has underlined the need for concerted efforts for providing quality reproductive health services to mothers and children.

Speaking at a seminar on population development here on Thursday, the minister lauded the role of private sector in providing healthcare services, and said that according to an estimate, 80 per cent population of the country depended on private sector for treatment facilities.

Explaining the government's strategy for regulating the private sector health services, the minister said the Health Regulatory Authority established for the purpose was devising a plan in this regard.

Expressing his displeasure over the existing insufficient health care facilities for mother and child, the minister termed the situation gloomy. Better delivery of mother and child health services was not possible without improving the entire health care delivery system," he maintained.

Inayat Khan proposed integration of basic health units with family welfare centres which, he said, would improve the standard of the mother-child health services and make the programme acceptable to all segments of the society.

The minister maintained that efforts were being made to prepare an attractive package under which doctors and paramedical staff would be hired and posted in the rural and backward areas of the province.

He said the health foundation was considering a plan for provision of loans on easy terms and conditions for making the non-functional BHUs active under the public-private partnership so as to fully utilize the existing infrastructure.

Speaking on the occasion, other speakers expressed concern over insufficient facilities for reproductive health and high mortality rate among mothers and infants. They called for a proper planning and awareness in this regard.

The participants were told that the population Welfare Department would offer training opportunities and other incentives to medical practitioners to utilize their services for improvement of reproductive health.

The seminar was jointly organized by the Population Welfare Department and the Regional Training Institute (RTI) to create awareness among medical practitioners about issues relating to population planning and to seek their assistance for providing standard health facilities to mother and child.

The seminar was attended by Health Secretary Dr Ihsanul Haq, DG Health Dr Jalilur Rehman and Director Population Welfare Noor Afzal.

Those who spoke on the occasion included Additional Secretary of Ministry of Population Welfare Nayyar Agha, DG of Population Welfare Department Shaukat Mohmand, Director Technical Dr Mehro Humayun, RTI Principal Dr Tufail Mohammad Khan, Dr Farooq Khan, Dr Saeedul Majeed and others.